Plans submitted for pedestrian and cycle links near Gravity

Sedgemoor District Council has been working to help deliver the Gravity smart campus, located on the former Royal Ordnance factory between the villages of Puriton and Woolavington, east of the M5.

This is Gravity Ltd. has applied to provide new pedestrian and cycle links from the two villages to the site, as well as outdoor fitness zones where people can exercise.

The council is expected to make a decision on the plans before the end of March.

At the Puriton end, the new cycle route will begin at the northern end of Enterprise Way (north of the new roundabout), bend further north towards the Gravity site and then rejoin Woolavington Road.

The first ‘fitness zone’ will be located at the junction of Woolavington Road and the Western Approach Road, leading to the main entrance to the enterprise zone.

The district council is expected to make a decision on the plans before the end of March. (Image: Daniel Mumby)

At the Woolavington end, the new route will begin west of the existing junction with Lynham Close and run along the northern side of Woolavington Road and up the Eastern Approach Road, via a second fitness zone halfway along the thoroughfare.

Each of the fitness zones will be fitted with a range of outdoor gym equipment to encourage both local residents and employees to stay active.

A spokesman for Stantec (representing the applicant) said: “The proposal will contribute to increasing footfall and increased dwell time within the village centres by encouraging travel between them, in turn contributing to a buoyant and sustainable economy and through promoting physical activity.

“The proposals will also make provision for walking, cycling and other personal mobility modes to access Gravity, the 37 Club and between the two villages, whilst also making the villages more attractive and safer places for those modes of transport.”

The new route forms part of a wider aspiration within the Bridgwater local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LWCIP), which would see the delivery of an interrupted cycling route between the Gravity site and the town centre.

The relevant route – dubbed the ‘purple route’ – would run from the Gravity site through both Puriton and along the A39 link road, cross the M5 at Junction 23, go around the Dunball roundabout and proceed south into the town centre along the A38 Bristol Road (with a separate loop for the Express Park).

The area near the Gravity site covered by the active travel improvement plans. (Image: Stantec)

The Express Park loop, which passes by the planned site of the Bridgwater tidal barrier, opened to the public in November 2022 and currently runs from the A38 down to the Saltlands Bridge.

Cycling improvements on and around the Dunball roundabout will be delivered as part of a £5.3m upgrade which is currently under way, funded primarily by the government’s levelling up fund.

Further improvements to the ‘Bridgwater northern corridor’, including changes at the Cross Rifles roundabout, are expected to be delivered by 2025.

The council is expected to make a decision on the Gravity active travel plans by March 31; any decision after this date will be taken by the new unitary Somerset Council.